Please advise on a basic beer process

[lacto]

What Cheer?

I want to make a malted grain drink so that I can add to it (things like herbs etc). This is the story so far ...

Its a test so I am making just one litre.
I understand the basic ingredients for a layman are:
1 litre water
160g of malt (in this case I have Crystal EBC 150)
5g or less of general purpose wine yeast (unfortunately that is all I have for the moment)
No sugar (really?)

Boil water
Crush malt (I am using a french style meat tenderizer - its like an inverted mushroom only in wood!)
I have had no problem crushing the malt into fibrous husk and powder.
add malt to water - simmer 15 minutes stirring frequently
Add bittering agent (in this case bitter chicory leaves) 5 minutes before turning off heat.
Cool to room temperature
Strain then add yeast - vigorously stir it for a couple of minutes
At this point I took Hydro reading of OG 1.015. I expected it to be more like 1.035, so I decided to add 60g sugar which took it to 1.030.

Will this make a basic beer?
Can I make it work without sugar? I was told that I could. If the above is incorrect then what would I need to correct it - more malt? How much more?

And if this little experiment is bound not to work then can anyone give me a workable recipe that possibly doesnot contain sugar?

 

[mac_1103]

Crystal malts have no diastatic power (according to Brewer's Friend anyway). So you would have just extracted starches without converting them to fermentable sugars. Especially if you just added the grains to boiling water. And wine yeast wouldn't ferment much of the sugar that you can extract from malt anyway. So unless I'm misunderstanding your ingredients, you should end up with about 2.5% ABV from the sugar and malty flavor from the crystal.

Next time use a base malt, steep it at around 150F, and pitch a beer yeast.

 

[DBhomebrew]

Crystal doesn't have diastatic power, but it also need not be mashed. They are one of the things one may 'steep'.

That said, they're not very fermentable due to their high levels of longer, more complex sugars and dextrins. A wort with a high percentage of its sugars coming from crystal (>10% or so) may end up as a overly sweet, cloying beer.

Add on top of that, wine yeast typically doesn't ferment those long sugars such as maltotriose.

 

[IslandLizard]

160g of malt (in this case I have Crystal EBC 150)

As the others already said, you need to include a good percentage of diastatic malt (aka base malt), which contains enzymes. The enzymes convert the grain's starches into fermentable sugars during a process called the mash.

The mash doesn't get simmered, it needs to be held at a narrow temp range (146-156F) where the enzymes are most active. Simmering/boiling denatures (kills) the enzymes.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

a malted grain drink so that I can add to it (things like herbs etc)

Gruit?

a workable recipe

Maybe this for a starting point for process and recipe ideas?

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/golden-goblet-gruit-ale/.

 

[lacto]

OK ... I guess I fouled up big time! Thanks for the info ... so - as you are all knowledgable and inventive in yor brewing, here is another possibly stupid question - what alcoholic beverage can I include the crystal malt that I now have? I really want a herbal (ie leaves and roots) concotion ... at the moment nettles are myfavourite, but wild fruits are happening all around me. So can I just mash the crystal for its biscuity flavour or something? What say you?

 

[DBhomebrew]

I have made a delightful carbonated 6% herbal tea flavored mead with about 1oz steeped crystal per gallon. The honey ferments totally dry, the crystal leaves its residual sugars and dextrins. The beverage ended up off-dry without having to deal with backsweetening, stabilization, pasteurization.

 

[lacto]

I have made a delightful carbonated 6% herbal tea flavored mead with about 1oz steeped crystal per gallon. The honey ferments totally dry, the crystal leaves its residual sugars and dextrins. The beverage ended up off-dry without having to deal with backsweetening, stabilization, pasteurization.

... Thats what I like to hear! I can go with methaglin ... and that might be an interesting addition to the Blaand I regularly make ... yes, let it be dry ... sounds amazing ... thanks DBhomebrew

 

[DBhomebrew]

Bray Denard's "Fidnemed" was the inspiration.

 

[RM-MN]

If available, dry malt extract may be what you are looking for as a base to make a fermentable liquid. Steep some of your Crystal to add more flavor, then use a beer yeast to ferment the beer.